APPLY: Connaught Summer Institute on Monitoring Internet Openness and Rights

Call for Applications

The University of Toronto is convening a week-long workshop taking place on July 22-26, 2013 focused on monitoring Internet openness and rights from a multidisciplinary perspective.

We would like to invite leading researchers, students, and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines to discuss research on the study of information controls, present latest work, facilitate research review and mentorship, discuss research ethics, and engage in intensive research methods training.

Information controls can be broadly conceptualized as actions conducted in and through information and communication technologies (ICTs) that seek to deny, disrupt, monitor, or manipulate information for political and economic ends. These controls can be mandated by states or implemented by private actors. Information controls include a range of technical measures (e.g. Internet filtering, distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, electronic surveillance, targeted malware, etc.) and non-technical means (e.g. media regulation, licensing regimes, content removal, and broad use of defamation and slander laws). Over the past decade there has been a steady increase and spread of information controls across the globe in both democratic and authoritarian states.

The spread of information controls has a number of potentially negative impacts for the public interest. Privacy, civil liberties, and freedom of expression in both cultural and political spheres are often and increasingly threatened by state and corporate actors that have now developed potent means of controlling and monitoring digital information flows.

Information controls (such as censorship and surveillance) are processes that lack transparency, often taking place beyond the scrutiny of public debates, and which therefore increases the risk of abuses against civil and political rights. Hence, there is a pressing need to know more about how and why information controls take place, so that robust evidence can be generated, analysed, and inform policy discussions.

Requirements

We encourage submissions on a wide range of relevant topics. Submission that explore multidisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged. Possible topics include but are not limited to: Measuring Internet censorship, detecting surveillance, new tools and research methods, research ethics, legal and regulatory frameworks, role of private sector actors in censorship and surveillance, analysis of the social, economic and political impacts of censorship and surveillance.

Interested participants should send a one page abstract summarizing what they plan to present at the workshop as well as any relevant experience or topics of specific interest. The abstract should also indicate the preferred presentation format for the work (poster, short talk, or tutorial) and indicate if the person will require travel support to attend the institute. A limited pool of travel support is available and will be allocated based on strength of the abstract and demonstrated need.

Deadline

Please submit abstracts to info at citizenlab.org with the subject “Summer Institute 2013” by June 1, 2013.

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